The Kuskokwim 300

Last weekend was eventful in Tuluksak. The Kuskokwim 300 dog sled race is one of the more competitive and well-funded races in Alaska, and Tuluksak is a mandatory checkpoint for mushers. The race starts in Bethel and travels on and along the Kuskokwim River to Aniak and back. The race is a qualifying race for the Iditarod so there were many famous mushers passing through the village. Between Tuluksak and Kalsgag (50 miles upriver) there is a mandatory 6 hours of rest. Our school was the base where vets and race officials stayed over the weekend. Many mushers spent their rest time sleeping on the floor of our gym. 

Teachers volunteered to bring food and help people coming in and out of the school over the weekend. Even though many mushers came and went in the middle of the night, it was still pretty neat seeing the dogs and meeting race officials. I even got to chat with Iditarod legend Martin Buser for a while :)

The dog teams stayed on the river behind the school while the mushers rested. 

There were 30 dog teams in the race so lots of dog food and straw had to be flown into the village the week before the race. 

Race officials traveled along the course keeping the dogs and mushers safe. The ice road is currently open, but the conditions are very rough for both sled and vehicle travel. 

Dogs that mushers had to drop from their team stayed next to the school until they could be flown back to Bethel. I think these dogs were probably more cozy than the ones that had to stay on the river. 

This area of the school is visible from my house so Birkie had a very difficult weekend being able see, but not play with, all these dogs. 

The Alaska National Guard was also here over the weekend helping with the race, completing "arctic training" and driving around in these crazy beasts.  The guardsmen were supposed to sleep outside and only eat their rations packets, but many of them spent a lot of time in the school enjoying the heat and snacks. 

The race conditions this year were very challenging. It has been cold here recently, but we don't have much snow.  The mushers often had to travel across glare ice as shown in this video of the race winner Pete Kaiser crossing the finish line in Bethel. 

It is unfortunate that mushing has become a spectacle rather than a way of life in Western Alaska, but this was still a really cool event to be a small part of. 

Changes

January has been month of changes and hardship in Tuluksak. After returning from break, we learned that the Regional School Board had fired our current Superintendent. She had been planning to resign at the end of the school year but a series of questionable actions resulted in her immediate termination. We now have an interim Superintendent, our previous Yupik Curriculum Director, who has been in the district for several years. It is possible she will be offered the position permanently. Many staff in the district are feeling anxious about the uncertain future. 

We also learned that our principal will not be returning next year. This means that next year will be Tuluksak's fourth principal in four years. Administrator turnover like this makes school improvements extra difficult. Every new person has their own ideas about what the school's goals should be and how to achieve them. Regardless of how capable and innovative the new principal might be, the students and teachers suffer from a lack of consistency.

Two weeks ago there was a death in the village. A young man committed suicide. In a community like this, where everyone is related to and reliant on each other, this death has had a devastating effect. The young man was a former student, and the brother or cousin of many current students. At school it has been difficult to find a balance between allowing teachers and students grieve, while still maintaining structure and adhering to the legal limitations teachers have when addressing this tragedy in the classroom. Funerals here combine several Russian Orthodox, Moravian and traditional Shamanism practices. After the funeral, Yupik tradition requires 40 days of feasting to allow the spirit to move on. Unfortunately because of the overwhelming shock and despair people are feeling, heavy drinking is happening during the feast. 

Alaskan Native males from 15-24 have the highest rate of suicide of any demographic in the United States. This study http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4035879/ attempted to identify some of the reasons why this rate is so disproportionate to all other groups. The author believes that some of the contributors to suicide risk factors in rural Alaska are alcohol abuse and loss of traditional ways after statehood. Even though I have only been in the village a short time, I have witnessed how the loss of cultural traditions leads to feelings of hopelessness. I think the next several weeks will be very difficult for many people in Tuluksak and I hope the community here will be able to turn to each other rather than alcohol for support and find some peace. 

A New Year on the Delta

After a wonderful, relaxing break, the second semester is underway in Tuluksak! The weeks before break were very busy with MAP testing and Christmas program preparations. My students were also busy allocating and wrapping gifts for members of the community that were in need of something warm this season. The counselor at our school received several boxes of new, child-sized winter coats  from a church in Anchorage for kids in the village who were without one. I reached out to my parent's church, United Methodist in Two Harbors, and the congregation there donated a whole bin full of winter boots and socks. The high schoolers decided who in the school and community could use the donated gear, and then wrapped them up and delivered them. 

They did a great job figuring out who would fit the boots and coats we had. 

I had been hoarding boxes and paper scraps in my room during the weeks leading up to break so we lots of wrapping material.

By the time we were finished, they were all expert wrappers!

Traveling in and out of the villages during winter is very challenging. You can plan all you want, but sometimes the weather just doesn't cooperate. 

I was lucky it was a relatively clear morning when two of my coworkers and I chartered out of the village. It was my first time flying in a bush plane during the winter, and before sunrise. The view was very different than when I flew into the village in August. 

Unfortunately, my luck ran out when I attempted to leave Bethel. My first flight was cancelled, and my rescheduled flight was delayed resulting in ten hours in the Bethel terminal!

The Bethel terminal is not your typical airport; its basically just a room with chairs, a couple vending machines, and no wifi. It was thankfully relatively empty during our wait so Birkie and I were able to take over a bench and nap together. We eventually made it to Anchorage around 11:30pm.

Birkie and I spent a couple days in Anchorage shopping, exploring dog parks and restaurants, and paying a visit to the vet, and then headed 120 miles south to Seward. 

Seward might be the most beautiful place I've ever been. I kind of chose it at random as a place to spend Christmas, but I'm really thankful I did. 

 This was the view from right in front of my B&B. Any direction you looked was just more mountains, ocean and beauty. 

The Front Row B&B is the nicest place I've stayed in Alaska. 

The fanciest dog bed.

Walking from the B&B to the harbor.

There is restaurant in Seward called Chinooks that is right on the water. While I was eating my delicious Halibut BLT there, this little sea otter was putting on a show for everyone in the restaurant! He was rolling around and splashing; it was pretty adorable. 

It was kind of strange being away from my family at Christmas so I was thankful for my friend Karisa putting me in touch with her friend Lara who lives in Seward. Lara was an awesome host who allowed me to tag along with her and her friend's Christmas celebrations that included a wonderful free Christmas dinner at a local restaurant. (Thanks Karisa and Lara!!)

The Seward Highway that connects Seward and Anchorage is an absolutely breathtaking route that snakes around mountains, ocean and marshes the whole way. It was very scenic, but also potentially treacherous. I was thankful to be traveling on clear day during the tourist off-season. 

When Birkie and I returned to Anchorage we spent the rest of our time playing outside in the bizarrely warm weather as much as possible. 

Chugach State Park right outside of town provide some great hiking trails. 

Our first attempt to leave Anchorage was unsuccessful. After our plane made it to Bethel, we circled around for about a half hour waiting for the weather to allow us to land, and eventually had to turn back to Anchorage. No one on our flight was really phased by this. After looking at the forecast I decided to spend two more nights in Anchorage and then try again. Our second attempt was successful!

Birkie was perfectly fine with extending our vacation.

I was so relieved to return to the village and find that the water and the generator were both running! My first week back at school in Tuluksak was the best week I've had here in terms of student behavior and engagement. We have a shop teacher in the high school this semester which is wonderful for the students because it gives them an opportunity to learn skills applicable to life in the village, and is wonderful for the teachers because it makes our class sizes smaller :) 

I shared with my mentor how great my students were this past week and she told me their behavior is typical for students in many schools out in the bush. Many teachers simply don't return after winter break because of the challenges of living in a village. My mentor informed me that in her experience, students spend the first semester testing new teachers because they fear they won't be around the whole year. While I can understand the reasons why a teacher might leave, it breaks my heart that the students here have developed these kinds of defense mechanisms. While I'm unsure what the future holds for me, the break renewed my commitment to my students and I'm looking forward to spending the rest of the semester with them.